--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The future goal is the thing which…" description: "\"“The future goal is the thing which produces character in the present.”\" — N.T. Wright" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/n-t-wright-1173_character_the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produ_675794.png" --- # The future goal is the thing which produces character in… ![“The future goal is the thing which produces character in the present.” quote by N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/n-t-wright-1173_character_the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produ_675794.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/n-t-wright-1173_character_the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produ_675794.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/n-t-wright-1173_character_the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produ_675794.png) > ““The future goal is the thing which produces character in the present.”” [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Future aspirations shape present character by directing effort and values. **In simple terms:** Future goals shape present character. Key Takeaway Set clear goals to develop character now. Themes growth purpose character Mood hopeful determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - education - spiritual practice Key Concepts ethics goal setting Questions to Reflect On - What present habits support your future goals? - How does ambition affect daily life? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on future may cause neglect of present joys. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-present-1646138/) [Expectation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectation/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Future Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-goal-1046030/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goal Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal-thing-5355975/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Medication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medication/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [It's the other team not even making one shot on goal. The thing that gives me the most pleasure is that my keeper doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-dias/it-s-the-other-team-not-even-making-one-shot-on-goal-the-thing-that/) [Ruben Dias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-dias/) > [My job as a character actor is to make me fit the character, to serve the character. To present this human being who turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-spall/my-job-as-a-character-actor-is-to-make-me-fit-the-character-to-serve/) [Timothy Spall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-spall/) > [Emotionally, I think you're going on a journey with the character, so you have to be present for each and every scene, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-luddington/emotionally-i-think-you-re-going-on-a-journey-with-the-character-so/) [Camilla Luddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-luddington/) > [I think a lot of acting is about the removal of self-consciousness. The actor is going to be in front of a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-think-a-lot-of-acting-is-about-the-removal-of-self-consciousness/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [There is nothing like a concrete life plan to weigh you down. Because if you always have one eye on some future goal, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indra-nooyi/there-is-nothing-like-a-concrete-life-plan-to-weigh-you-down-because/) [Indra Nooyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indra-nooyi/) > [Your goal is not to know every detail of the future. Your goal is to hold the hand of the One who does and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/your-goal-is-not-to-know-every-detail-of-the-future-your-goal-is-to/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. A goal is what specifically you intend to make happen. Dreams and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/a-dream-is-your-creative-vision-for-your-life-in-the-future-a-goal-is/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Whether you believe it a moral imperative or in the rich world's enlightened self-interest, securing the conditions that will lead to a healthy, prosperous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/whether-you-believe-it-a-moral-imperative-or-in-the-rich-world-s/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [For our purposes, let’s say a goal is a specific objective that you either achieve or don’t sometime in the future. A system is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/for-our-purposes-let-s-say-a-goal-is-a-specific-objective-that-you/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [As a future goal, I just want to be one of those guys that is known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erick-green/as-a-future-goal-i-just-want-to-be-one-of-those-guys-that-is-known/) [Erick Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erick-green/) > [I did not worry about the future, Because there was no goal in my life, But today, I have goals for the future, It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/i-did-not-worry-about-the-future-because-there-was-no-goal-in-my-life/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Music is my medication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/music-is-my-medication/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And we have come so far like that. I mean, the advances on the medication side have been enormous, and the advances on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/and-we-have-come-so-far-like-that-i-mean-the-advances-on-the/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [Because I'm not, in fact, depressed, Prozac makes me manic and numb - one of the reasons I slice my arm in the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/because-i-m-not-in-fact-depressed-prozac-makes-me-manic-and-numb-one/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [The World Health Organisation has a lot of its medical experts sitting in Geneva while hospitals in Africa have no drugs and desperate patients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/the-world-health-organisation-has-a-lot-of-its-medical-experts/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) ## More by N.T. Wright > [“This means that the church, the followers of Jesus Christ, live in the bright interval between Easter and the final great consummation. Let's make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/this-means-that-the-church-the-followers-of-jesus-christ-live-in-the/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The very mention of crucifixion was taboo in polite Roman circles, since it was the lowest form of capital punishment, reserved for slaves and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-very-mention-of-crucifixion-was-taboo-in-polite-roman-circles/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“Sunday, kept as a commemoration of Easter ever since that event itself (a quite remarkable phenomenon when you come to think about it), is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/sunday-kept-as-a-commemoration-of-easter-ever-since-that-event-itself/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The point of trying to understand the cross better is not so that we can congratulate ourselves for having solved an intellectual crossword puzzle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-point-of-trying-to-understand-the-cross-better-is-not-so-that-we/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“there is no such thing as a god’s-eye view (by which would be meant a Deist god’s-eye view) available to human beings, a point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-god-s-eye-view-by-which-would-be-meant-a/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The “goal” is not “heaven,” but a renewed human vocation within God’s renewed creation. This is what every biblical book from Genesis on is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-goal-is-not-heaven-but-a-renewed-human-vocation-within-god-s/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“having a hard enough time explaining to his disciples that he had to die; they never really grasped that at all, and they certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/having-a-hard-enough-time-explaining-to-his-disciples-that-he-had-to/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“If we are talking about the victory over evil and the launch of new creation, it won’t make much sense unless we are working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/if-we-are-talking-about-the-victory-over-evil-and-the-launch-of-new/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The personal message of Good Friday, expressed in so many hymns and prayers which draw on the tradition of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-personal-message-of-good-friday-expressed-in-so-many-hymns-and/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“To recognize that the Psalms call us to pray and sing at the intersections of the times--of our time and God's time, of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/to-recognize-that-the-psalms-call-us-to-pray-and-sing-at-the/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“Successful resistance to temptation may result in an increase of moral muscle, but that is because one is going to need it. A temptation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/successful-resistance-to-temptation-may-result-in-an-increase-of/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“Blessings on the poor in spirit! The kingdom of heaven is yours” (Matt. 5:3) doesn’t mean, “You will go to heaven when you die.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/blessings-on-the-poor-in-spirit-the-kingdom-of-heaven-is-yours-matt-5/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“As C. S. Lewis regularly remarked, the chronological snobbery of the modern age (i.e. the assumption that anything that comes after around 1750 is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/as-c-s-lewis-regularly-remarked-the-chronological-snobbery-of-the/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“The kingdom of God is, at its heart, about God’s sovereignty sweeping the world with love and power, so that human beings, each made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-kingdom-of-god-is-at-its-heart-about-god-s-sovereignty-sweeping/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“pre-Christian Judaism, including the disciples during Jesus’s lifetime, never envisaged the death of the Messiah. That is why they never thought of his resurrection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/pre-christian-judaism-including-the-disciples-during-jesus-s-lifetime/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) [Explore all 278 N.T. Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The future goal is the thing which produces character in the present.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N.T. Wright" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produces-character-in-the-present/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produces-character-in-the-present/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/n-t-wright-1173_character_the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produ_675794.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/n-t-wright-1173_character_the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produ_675794.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b5/n-t-wright-1173_character_the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produ_675794.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The future goal is the thing which produces character in the present.” — N.T. Wright", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "N.T. Wright", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The future goal is the thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produces-character-in-the-present/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/the-future-goal-is-the-thing-which-produces-character-in-the-present/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```